II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5126 

To increase the maximum reward amount for information leading to the 

arrest and conviction of Nicola ́s Maduro Moros to $100,000,000, which 

shall be paid out by the Federal Government from all assets being 

withheld from Nicola ́s Maduro Moros, officials of the Maduro regime 

and their co-conspirators. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. CRUZ) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To increase the maximum reward amount for information 

leading to the arrest and conviction of Nicola ́s Maduro 

Moros to $100,000,000, which shall be paid out by the 

Federal Government from all assets being withheld from 

Nicola ́s Maduro Moros, officials of the Maduro regime 

and their co-conspirators. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Timely Op5 portunities for Payment and Maximizing Awards for DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:22 Sep 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5126.IS S5126

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1 taining Unlawful Regime Officials Act of 2024’’ or the 

2 ‘‘STOP MADURO Act’’. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) In 2020, the Trump administration charged 

6 Venezuela regime leader Nicola ́s Maduro Moros, 

7 along with other regime officials with— 

8 (A) participating in a narco-terrorism con9 spiracy, which carries a 20-year mandatory 

10 minimum sentence and a maximum sentence of 

11 life in prison; 

12 (B) conspiring to import cocaine into the 

13 United States, which carries a 10-year manda14 tory minimum sentence and a maximum sen15 tence of life in prison; 

16 (C) using and carrying machine guns and 

17 destructive devices during, and in relation to, 

18 and possessing machine guns and destructive 

19 devices in furtherance of, the narco-terrorism 

20 and cocaine-importation conspiracies, which 

21 carries a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence 

22 and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and 

23 (D) conspiring to use and carry machine 

24 guns and destructive devices during, and in re25 lation to, and to possess machine guns and deVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:22 Sep 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5126.IS S5126

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1 structive devices in furtherance of, the narco2 terrorism and cocaine-importation conspiracies, 

3 which carries a maximum sentence of life in 

4 prison. 

5 (2) On March 26, 2020, United States Attorney 

6 Geoffrey S. Berman of the Southern District of New 

7 York stated in a press release, ‘‘Today we announce 

8 criminal charges against Nicola ́s Maduro for run9 ning, together with his top lieutenants, a narco-ter10 rorism partnership with the FARC for the past 

11 twenty years. The scope and magnitude of the drug 

12 trafficking alleged was made possible only because 

13 Maduro and others corrupted the institutions of 

14 Venezuela and provided political and military protec15 tion for the rampant narco-terrorism crimes de16 scribed in our charges. As alleged, Maduro and the 

17 other defendants expressly intended to flood the 

18 United States with cocaine in order to undermine 

19 the health and wellbeing of our nation. Maduro very 

20 deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon.’’. 

21 (3) The press release included a statement from 

22 United States Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of 

23 the Southern District of Florida, who stated, ‘‘In the 

24 last couple of years, the US Attorney’s Office in 

25 South Florida and its federal law enforcement partVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:22 Sep 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5126.IS S5126

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1 ners have united to bring dozens of criminal charges 

2 against high-level regime officials and co-conspira3 tors resulting in seizures of approximately $450 mil4 lion dollars.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. INCREASING THE MAXIMUM REWARD AMOUNT FOR 

6 INFORMATION LEADING TO THE ARREST AND 

7 CONVICTION OF NICOLA ́ S MADURO MOROS 

8 THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RE9 WARDS PROGRAM. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding section 

11 36(e)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act 

12 of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(e)(1)), the Secretary of State 

13 may pay, to one or more individuals who furnish informa14 tion described in section 36(b) of such Act that directly 

15 leads to the arrest and conviction of Nicola ́s Maduro 

16 Moros, a reward of up to $100,000,000. 

17 (b) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—The payment authorized 

18 under subsection (a) shall be derived exclusively from the 

19 liquidation of assets being withheld from Nicola ́s Maduro 

20 Moros, officials of the Maduro regime, and their co-con21 spirators by the President or by the Office of Foreign As22 sets Control of the Department of the Treasury pursuant 

23 to— 

24 (1) the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation 

25 Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.); 


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1 (2) section 5 of the Venezuela Defense of 

2 Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 (50 

3 U.S.C. 1701 note); 

4 (3) Executive Order 13692 (50 U.S.C. 1701 

5 note; relating to blocking of property and suspending 

6 entry of certain persons contributing to the situation 

7 in Venezuela); 

8 (4) Executive Order 13850 (relating to blocking 

9 property of additional persons contributing to the 

10 situation in Venezuela); 

11 (5) Executive Order 13884 (50 U.S.C. 1701 

12 note; relating to blocking property of the Govern13 ment of Venezuela); or 

14 (6) any other sanctions provision. 

Æ 


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